Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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TOURNAMENT SYSTEM AND METHOD OF OPERATION THEREOF
Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a tournament system and, more particularly, to a
tournament system that is operable to conduct a multiplayer tournament, more
specifically a multiplayer game tournament. The invention extends to a method
of operation of the tournament system and to a method of conducting a
tournament.
Background to the Invention
Multiplayer tournaments, such as bridge tournaments are well known and widely
supported in many jurisdictions.
Such multiplayer tournaments generally consist of a number of different rounds
of
play, starting with a qualifying round from which a number of the best players
emerge and proceeded to play in subsequent rounds of the tournament. At each
round of the tournament, the number of participating players is further
reduced
until a predetermined number of players remain, who then participate in a
final
round from which a winner of the tournament emerges.
Tournaments of this type have a disadvantage in that all of the rounds of the
tournament must be played at the same venue or, alternatively, the qualifying
rounds must be played at different predetermined venues in the form of
district or
regional tournaments, thus necessitating all players to be present at the
CONFIRMATION COPY
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respective venues, which is unnecessarily costly and logistically difficult to
administer.
Object of the Invention
It is an object of this invention to provide a tournament system, a method of
operation of the tournament system, and a method of conducting a tournament
that will, at least partially, alleviate the abovementioned difficulties and
disadvantages
Summary of the Invention
In accordance with this invention there is provided a tournament system for
conducting a multiplayer tournament in which a plurality of players compete in
a
multiplayer game to determine a winner thereof, comprising:
online means for conducting at least one online elimination round of the
multiplayer game, the at least one online elimination round including a
plurality of
online instances of the multiplayer game, the online means being arranged to
determine a winner for each online instance of the multiplayer game; and
adjudication means for conducting at least one final round of the multiplayer
game, the at least one final round consisting of a single instance of the
multiplayer game in which the winner of this instance of the multiplayer game
is
determined as the winner of the tournament; and
broadcasting means associated with the adjudication means, the broadcasting
means being operable to broadcast a video image of the progress of the at
least
one final round of the tournament.
Further features of the invention provide for the online means to conduct a
plurality of successive online elimination rounds of the multiplayer game,
each
one of the plurality of online elimination rounds including a plurality of
online
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instances of the multiplayer game, and for the online means to enable only the
winner of each instance of the multiplayer game in any online elimination
round
to participate in an immediately succeeding online elimination round.
Still further features of the invention provide for the adjudication means to
also
conduct a semi-final round of the multiplayer game, the semi-final round
including
a plurality of instances of the multiplayer game, for the adjudication means
to
enable only the winner of each online instance of the multiplayer game in tfye
last
online elimination round to participate in the semi-final round, for the
adjudication
means to enable only the winner of each instance of the multiplayer game in
the
semi-final round to participate in the final round of the multiplayer game,
and for
the broadcasting means to be operable to also broadcast a video image of the
progress of each instance of the multiplayer game in the semi-final round.
Yet further features of the invention provide for the online means to
determine the
finishing order of players in each online instance of every online elimination
round
of the multiplayer game, for the online means to award a corresponding prize
to
each player in fihe final online elimination round of the multiplayer game,
the prize
being inversely proportional to the finishing order of that player in the
online
instance of the final online elimination round, for the adjudication means to
determine the finishing order of players in the semi-final and final rounds of
the
multiplayer game, for the adjudication means to award a corresponding prize to
each player in the semi-final and final rounds of the multiplayer game, the
prize
being inversely proportional to the finishing order of that player in the
instance of
the particular semi-final or final round, and for the adjudication means to
award a
jackpot prize to a winner of the final round.
There is also provided for the online means to include:
a gaming server operable under program control to regulate the progress of at
least one instance of the multiplayer game, the gaming server enabling
participation in the at least one instance of the multiplayer game by a
predetermined plurality of players;
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a user access facility communicable with the gaming server by means of a
communication network and being operable by the respective player to access
the gaming server along the communication network;
a register of players participating in the at least one instance of the game,
the
register including, for at each participating player, data representative of
the at
least one instance of the multiplayer game in which the player is
participating;
wagering means operable by each player to place a wager on the at least one
instance of the multiplayer game; and
discrimination means responsive to progress of the at least one instance of
the
multiplayer game to determine whether a wager placed thereon by any one of the
participating players is successful or unsuccessful.
There is further provided for the communication network to be the Internet,
for the
user access facility to be a computer workstation connectable to the World
Wide
Web of the Internet, and for the multiplayer game to be a game of multiplayer
poker.
The invention extends to a method of operation of a 'tournament system for
conducting a multiplayer tournament in which a plurality of players compete in
a
multiplayer game to determine a winner, comprising the steps of:
conducting at least one online elimination round of the multiplayer game, the
at
least one online elimination round including a plurality of online instances
of the
multiplayer game;
determining a winner for each online instance of the multiplayer game;
conducting at least one final round of the multiplayer game, consisting of a
single
instance of the multiplayer game in which the winner of this instance of the
multiplayer game is determined as the winner of the tournament; and
broadcasting a video image of the progress of the at least one final round of
the
tournament.
There is further provided for conducting a plurality of successive online
elimination rounds of the multiplayer game, each one of the plurality of
online
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elimination rounds including a plurality of instances of the multiplayer game,
and
enabling only the winner of each online instance of the multiplayer game in
any
online elimination round to participate in an immediately succeeding online
elimination round.
5
There is still further provided for the method to include the step of
conducting a
semi-final round of the multiplayer game, the semi-final round including a
plurality
of instances of the multiplayer game, for enabling only the winner of each
online
instance of the multiplayer game in the last online elimination round to
participate
in the semi-final round of the multiplayer game, for enabling only the winner
of
each instance of the multiplayer game in the semi-final round to participate
in the
final round of the multiplayer game, and for broadcasting a video image of the
progress of each instance of the multiplayer game in the semi-final round.
There is yet further provided for determining the finishing order of players
in each
online instance of every online elimination round of the multiplayer game, for
awarding a corresponding prize to each player in the final online elimination
round of the multiplayer game, the prize being inversely proportional to the
finishing order of that player in the instance of the final online elimination
round,
for determining the finishing order of players in the semi-final and final
rounds of
the multiplayer game, for awarding a corresponding prize to each player in the
semi-final and final rounds of the multiplayer game, the prize being inversely
proportional to the finishing order of that player in the instance of the
particular
semi-final or final round, and for awarding a jackpot prize to a winner of the
final
round.
The invention extends to a method of conducting a multiplayer tournament in
which a plurality of players compefie in a multiplayer game to determine a
winner
thereof, comprising the steps of:
conducting at (east one online elimination round of the multiplayer game, the
at
least one online elimination round including a plurality of online instances
of the
multiplayer game;
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determining a winner for each online instance of the multiplayer game;
conducting at least one final round of the multiplayer game consisting of a
single
instance of the multiplayer game;
determining the winner of the single instance of the multiplayer game in the
final
round to be the winner of the tournament; and
broadcasting a video image of the progress of the final round of the
tournament.
There is further provided for conducting online a plurality of successive
elimination rounds of the multiplayer game, each one of the plurality of
elimination rounds including a plurality of online instances of the
multiplayer
game, and enabling only the winner of each online instance of the multiplayer
game in any online elimination round to participate in an immediately
succeeding
online elimination round.
There is still further provided for the method to include the step of
conducting a
semi-final round of the multiplayer game, the semi-final round including a
plurality
of instances of the multiplayer game, for enabling only the winner of each
online
instance of the multiplayer game in the last online elimination round to
participate
in the semi-final round of the multiplayer game, for enabling only the winner
of
each instance of the multiplayer game in the semi-final round to participate
in the
final round of the multiplayer game, and for broadcasting a video image of the
progress of each instance of the multiplayer game in the semi-final round.
There is further provided for determining the finishing order of players in
each
instance of every online elimination round of the multiplayer game, for
awarding a
corresponding prize to each player in the final online elimination round of
the
multiplayer game, the prize being inversely proportional to the finishing
order of
that player in the instance of the final online elimination round, for
determining the
finishing order of players in the semi-final and final rounds of the
multiplayer
game, for awarding a corresponding prize to each player in the semi-final and
final rounds of the multiplayer game, the prize being inversely proportional
to the
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finishing order of that player in the instance of the particular semi-final or
final
round, and for awarding a jackpot prize to the winner of the final round.
Brief Description of the Drawings
One embodiment of the invention is described below, by way of example only,
and with reference to the abovementioned drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a functional representation of a tournament system according to
the
invention;
Figure 2 is an online means of the tournament system of Figure 1; and
Figure 3 is an adjudication facility of the tournament system of Figure 1.
Detailed Description of the Invention
Referring to Figures 1 to 3, in which like features of the invention are
indicated by
like numerals, a tournament system for conducting a multiplayer tournament is
indicated that generally by reference numeral (1 ). The tournament system (1 )
is
used to conduct a multiplayer tournament in which a plurality of players
compete
in a multipiayer game to determine a winner thereof. In this embodiment of the
invention, the multiplayer game is multiplayer poker but it is to be clearly
understood that the scope of this invention is not limited to this particular
multiplayer game, but extends to include other multiplayer games such as, for
example, multiplayer blackjack, punto banco, baccarat or craps.
The tournament system (1 ) includes an online means, indicated generally by
reference numeral (2), for conducting two online elimination rounds of the
multiplayer poker game. Every online elimination round consists of a plurality
of
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distinct instances of the multiplayer poker game depending on how many players
participate in the tournament. Alternatively, the online means (2) may conduct
three or more elimination rounds of the multiplayer poker game if this is
warranted by a sufficiently large number of players wishing to participate in
the
tournament. For convenience, in this description, the first online elimination
round
of the tournament will be referred to as the preliminary round and the second
online elimination round will be referred to as the satellite round.
The tournament system also includes adjudication means, indicated generally by
reference numeral (3), for conducting a semi-final round and a final round of
the
multiplayer game. The semi-final round consists of multiple instances of the
multiplayer game, while the final round consists of a single instance of the
multiplayer game in which the winner of this instance of the game is
determined
as being the winner of the multiplayer tournament. The adjudication means (3)
consists of one or more physical playing tables (4) that can be located at a
predetermined venue, a supervisory computer workstation (5) and an associated
broadcasting means in the form of a television broadcast unit (6) and one or
more television cameras (16) that is operable to broadcast a television image
of
the progress of the semi-final and the final rounds of the multiplayer
tournament.
The online means (2) includes a gaming server (7) connected to a
communication network (8) that is, in this embodiment, the Internet. The
gaming
server (7) is accessible by a would-be poker player (not shown) through a user
access facility (9) in the form of an Internet-enabled computer workstation
having
a display monitor (10) and an associated pointing device (11 ), such as a
mouse
or, alternatively, a touchpad. In this embodiment, the gaming server (7) is
shown
as being logically connected to two computer workstations (9). It will be
appreciated by those skilled in the art of the invention that the gaming
server (7)
can be logically connected to any desired number of such computer workstations
(9) simultaneously, which number is physically limited only by considerations
of
processing power and Internet access bandwidth.
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The gaming server (7) operates under control of a server-stored program (not
shown) capable of enabling a predetermined maximum number, say 10, of
players to play an instance of the game of multiplayer poker. When the number
of players reaches this predetermined maximum number, the server-stored
program causes a further instance of the game to be initiated, the new
instance
of the game also being capable of accommodating a further 10 players. In this
manner, the gaming server (7) is capable, under server-stored program control,
of spawning as many separate instances of the game of multiplayer poker as
required in order to accommodate the pool of players who desired to
participate
in the tournament, in groups of a maximum of 10. Each instance of the game of
multiplayer poker spawned in this manner is treated as totally independent of
the
other instances of the multiplayer game.
The gaming server (7) enables a player who desires to join the tournament to
request, by means of one of the computer workstations (9) participation in the
tournament and, once admitted to an instance of the game in the preliminary
round, to place a wager on the turn of that instance of the game. Each
participating player is presented with an identical graphical user interface
(GUI)
on his respective computer workstation (9) by a separate workstation-stored
program (not shown) in the workstation. The GUI presents to the player a
suitable display of a poker game (not shown) with appropriate activatable
icons
that enable the player to make his own desired game play decisions and to
monitor the progress of the multiplayer poker game by viewing the game play
decisions of the other participating players in the same instance of the
multiplayer
game.
The server-stored program also provides a wagering means (12) operable by any
participating player to place a wager on the turn of the game, as well as
discrimination means (13) capable of determining whether any wager placed by
any one of the participating players on the turn of the instance of the game
of
multiplayer poker is successful or unsuccessful. The stored program in the
gaming server (7) also maintains a dynamic register (14) of all players
admitted
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to, and actively participating in, all fihe spawned instances of the
multiplayer
poker game, together with data identifying the particular insfiance of the
multiplayer poker game in which each player is participating. The gaming
server
(7) also settles the wagers of the participating players after the completion
of
5 every turn of any instance of the multiplayer poker game.
Each computer workstation (9) is a conventional personal computer operating
under a Windows 2000 operating system, which is well-known and commercially
available from the Microsoft Corporation of Seattle, Washington, USA. The
10 gaming server (7) operates under the Windows NT operating. system that is
also
available from the Microsoft Corporation. The game of multiplayer poker
consists
of the workstation-stored program (not shown) referred to, for convenience, as
a
client process that is executable on a computer worksfiation (9), and the
corresponding server-stored program (not shown), or server process, that is
executable on the gaming server (7). The server process (not shown) generates
one or more random events that affect the outcome of the game of multiplayer
poker, such as the dealing of cards to participating players. The client
process
(not shown) obtains the result of the random events from the gaming server
(7),
across the communication network (8) and displays the outcome of the game on
the display monitor (10) in an intelligible manner. In order to play the game
of
multiplayer poker from any computer workstation (9), the client process (not
shown) must first be downloaded from the gaming server (7) to that computer
workstation.
In use, a player wishing to participate in the multiplayer poker tournament
uses a
computer workstation (9) fio access the gaming server (7). The player is
presented with an icon (not shown) on the display monitor (10) of the computer
workstation (9), which the user can activate in order to request participation
in the
poker tournament and to register for it. The user's request for participation
is
submitted to the gaming server (7), which adjudicates and processes the
request
in the following manner:
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1. If all existing instances of the poker game are currently being played by
10
players, the existing instances of the game are all fully occupied and the
request in player cannot be admitted to any instance of the game. The
user is notified of the situation and added to the list of would-be players.
2. When the waiting list has grown to 10 would-be players, the gaming server
(7) spawns a new instance of the game to accommodate the players in the
waiting list, and the list is flushed.
3. When the gaming server (7) spawns a new instance of the poker, each
participating player is assigned a predetermined quantity of credit as a
stake with which to play the game.
4. The gaming server (7) may only spawn a predetermined maximum
number, namely 360, of separate instances of the poker game for
purposes of the tournament. The gaming server (7) advises any player
wishing to participate in the tournament once this number of instances has
been spawned that the tournament is fully subscribed and is closed. Such
player will be required to wait until a subsequent poker tournament is
established and opened by the gaming server (7).
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that, in the embodiment
described
above, separate instances of the poker game are launched asynchronously by
the gaming server (7) as and when necessitated by player demand. In a
variation of this embodiment, player registration can take place
asynchronously
according to player demand, and the gaming server (7) could spawn all 360
instances of the game simultaneously at an appointed date and time once the
poker tournament has become fully subscribed. In this variation, registered
players would be issued with user names and passwords and would be required
to log in to the gaming server (7) by means of respective computer
workstations
(9) at the appointed date and time.
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In each instance of the poker game, repeated turns of the game are played
until
a winner is determined. Any player who loses his entire stake at any time
during
the repeated turns of the game is eliminated from the instance of the game,
and
hence from the tournament. The gaming server (7) records an order in which the
participating players are eliminated from each instance of the game. The
gaming
server (7) determines the winner of any instance of the poker game as that
player
who survives when all other players are eliminated from that instance of the
game by losing their respective stakes.
The winners of each of the 360 different instances of the game in the
preliminary
round progress to, and are admitted to, to the satellite round of the
tournament.
The satellite round consists of 36 separate instances of the game, each
accommodating 10 winning players from the preliminary round. The satellite
round is played online in a similar manner to that of the preliminary round.
The
gaming server (7) spawns the 36 separate instances of the game at an appointed
time and date and allows the winning players from the previous round to log in
from their respective computer workstations (9) by means of respective user
names and passwords. As in the preceding round of the tournament, the gaming
server (7) records an order in which participating players are eliminated from
each instance of the poker game in the satellite round, and determines the
winner of each instance to be that participating player who survives when all
the
other participating players are eliminated from that instance of the game by
losing
their respective stakes.
The winners of each of the 36 different instances of the game in the satellite
round progress to a semi-final round of the tournament. Prizes are awarded to
all
participating players in each instance of the game in the satellite round as a
function of their respective finishing positions, as illustrated in the
following table:
ResuIt~Satellite) Prize
1St $1000
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2nd $500
3rd $300
4t" $200
5t" $100
6t" -10~" $50
The semi-final round of the tournament is held at a predetermined land-based
venue at which all 36 players who have qualified appear in person. The semi-
final round is arranged as six separate table games, each taking place at a
physical playing table (4) that accommodates six players. As with the online
elimination rounds of the tournament, each player is provided with an equal
stake
in order to participate.
The supervisory computer workstation (5) contains a register (15) in the form
of a
database of all 36 players participating in the semi-final round of the
tournament.
The supervisory computer workstation (5) is operable by an operator of the
tournament, from time to time, to update each player's status in the
tournament.
In particular, the register (15) is updated whenever a player loses his stake
to
indicate that the player has been eliminated from the tournament. The
supervisory computer workstation (5) derives, from the register (15), an order
in
which the parfiicipating players are eliminated from each one of the physical
playing tables (4).
In contradistinction with the preliminary and satellite rounds of the
tournament,
which are conducted online, and are thus not generally visible, television
coverage of the semi-final round is provided. The television broadcast unit
(6)
and the television cameras (16) that are present at the land-based venue
provide
live coverage of the round. Live coverage of sporting and other events is
commonplace in the art and will not, for this reason, be discussed here in
detail.
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The winners of each of the six table games in the semi-final round of the
tournament qualify for a final round, while prizes are awarded to players
according to their respective finishing positions at the various tables, as
follows:
Result Semi-final) Prize
1St $10,000
2"d $10,000
3rd $7,500
4tn $6,000
5t" $4500
6tn $2500
The final round of the tournament
is also held at a land-based
venue, which may
be the same venue as that of the semi-final round, or a different venue
altogether. All six qualifiers from the semi-final round appear in person and
compete at a single table and are each provided with an equal stake in order
to
participate. As with the semi-final round, live coverage of the final round is
provided by means of the television broadcast unit (6).
The winner of the final round is the overall winner of the tournament, and
prizes
are awarded to the remaining players according to the finishing positions at
the
table, as per the following prize table:
Result Final) Prize
1 St $100,000
2"d $50,000
3rd $30,000
4t" $20,000
Stn $10,000
6tn $5,000
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1S
It is envisaged that an operator of the poker tournament will derive revenue
from
several different streams such as, for example:
1. fees from television broadcasters for rights to broadcast live coverage of
the semi-final and final rounds of the tournament;
S 2. fees from online networks for rights to host the online rounds of the
tournament;
3. advertising revenue; and
4. sponsorship income.
Numerous modifications are possible to this embodiment without departing from
the scope of the invention. For example, the system (1 ) may be applied to any
multiplayer game on which participating players may place wagers. Furfiher
examples of such games are backgammon, bridge, gin rummy, canasta, whist or
mah jong. Further, the tournament may be increased in size to accommodate a
greater number of players than that described in this embodiment. Where the
tournament accommodates more players than described above, it may be
necessary to increase the number of online rounds and the number of "live"
rounds of the tournament relative to the two online rounds and to live rounds
described in this embodiment.
The technical problem solved by this invention is to enable implementation of
a
distributed multiplayer tournament, based on multiplayer games such as those
listed above, that draws players from different geographical locations,
without the
need for conducting district and regional competitions to determine progress
of
2S successful participants to later stages of the tournament. The invention
can
spawn online instances of the multiplayer game asynchronously as sufficient
players enter and register for the tournament. Any player who was unsuccessful
in a first round of the tournament is permitted to re-enter and re-register
for a
second or subsequent attempt in the tournament.
The invention therefore provides a flexible system for conducting rapid
multiplayer tournaments that can accommodate players from different locations
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and jurisdictions, and that is both convenient for player participation and
attractive to sponsors and advertisers because of broadcast publicity.
